


Oh, Little One, You Just Need to be Brave

by mainstreamelectricalparade



Series: Hardest Lessons (Softest Results) [9]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Iron Man 3, Kid Peter Parker, Parent Tony Stark, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker is Tony Stark's Biological Child, Precious Peter Parker, Sad Peter Parker, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, You'll see what I mean, i'm so nervous about this one dsfgfsh, it's im3 you probably know what i mean but still, nobody dies but it's so heartbreaking, this one is way sadder than my usual brand guys fair warning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-06
Updated: 2019-03-06
Packaged: 2019-11-13 02:30:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18023078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mainstreamelectricalparade/pseuds/mainstreamelectricalparade
Summary: Rhodey rounded the corner into the living room, closely followed by Peter, who was looking down at his feet as he held onto Rhodey's hand, and didn't see Tony right away.He looked sadder than Tony had ever seen him.Rhodey crouched down to Peter's level. “Look, buddy, look who's here for you.”Peter's eyes went wide, quickly filling with tears.“Dad?” he whispered, not moving from where he stood, like his feet were rooted to the carpet.





	Oh, Little One, You Just Need to be Brave

**Author's Note:**

> It's been a hot minute since I've posted, so I'm sorry it's this hot mess, but I was talking to a new friend a ton yesterday and we came up with this concept and I was really itching to write it, even though it's so far beyond my usual brand. I hope you guys enjoy it, anyway, because I wrote it so fast and I'm pretty proud of it.

Rhodey had sent Peter to stay with Roberta in Philadelphia to keep him safe from harm's way while everything that happened... happened.

Tony felt like he had an itch he couldn't scratch for the entire plane ride. He knew exactly what would make it go away, and it was in Philadelphia, but that didn't make the wait any easier. He wanted, more than anything, to see Peter again; he wanted to pick him up, despite being sore all over, and hold him, and never let go.

When the car finally pulled up to the front of the Rhodes residence, Rhodey went to find Peter first, because Tony arriving without warning might shock the heartbroken eleven year old more than would probably be healthy. Roberta had been warned over the phone before they got on the plane, and she warned them to expect loving smacks across the back of the head for scaring her as soon as it was situationally appropriate.

“You wait here,” Rhodey said, stopping Tony in the middle of the living room, where Roberta hugged him and Pepper firmly and, true to her word, smacked his shoulder gently, before hugging him again and clucking maternally at the sight of his injuries.

“Make it quick,” Tony murmured, and the knowing look Rhodey sent his way assured him that he understood.

\---

Rhodey tapped gently on the cracked-open door of his old room, which was where Roberta had put Peter while he was staying there. “Peter, buddy,” he said softly, easing the door open enough to stick his head in.

Peter was sitting on the bed, a book open in his lap that he clearly hadn't been reading. When he answered, he spoke quietly, a sullen look on his face. “Hi, Uncle Rhodey.”

Rhodey's heart clenched, but he knew that the solution for Peter's sadness was right downstairs. “Hey, kiddo,” he said. “I've got a surprise for you downstairs, you wanna come see?”

Peter looked up, like the idea of a surprise in itself was the surprise. He didn't exactly look excited, but he at least seemed interested. “Ok.”

Rhodey smiled and held a hand out. “Come on, then.”

Peter climbed off the bed and crossed the room to take Rhodey's hand.

\---

Tony heard Rhodey's voice as it came back down the stairs.

“-you're gonna love this, Pete, I think it's something you've been really wanting.”

God, Tony had really been wanting this, too.

 _Walk faster, Platypus. I need to see my baby_.

Rhodey rounded the corner into the living room, closely followed by Peter, who was looking down at his feet as he held onto Rhodey's hand, and didn't see Tony right away.

He looked sadder than Tony had ever seen him.

Rhodey crouched down to Peter's level and tilted his head to catch Peter's gaze, putting a gentle hand on the back of the boy's head. “Look, buddy, look who's here for you.”

Peter shot Rhodey a confused look at the use of the word “who”. Rhodey nodded encouragingly, and Peter turned his head to the rest of the room. His eyes went wide, quickly filling with tears.

“Dad?” Peter whispered, not moving from where he stood, like his feet were rooted to the carpet.

Tony's throat was closing up, but he managed a smile. “Hey, ducky,” he said hoarsely. He held his arms out to his son. “Come here.”

That was apparently all the prompting Peter needed, and he let out a forceful sob as he darted forward to run into Tony's waiting arms. “ _Daddy_ ,” he cried, as he barreled into Tony's chest, wrapping skinny arms around Tony's neck and holding on tight. Tony grunted a little at the impact, but instead of loosening his grip he pulled Peter closer, lifting him up off the ground to hold him properly. Peter's legs wrapped securely around his waist as he went up.

Tony buried a hand in Peter's hair, shutting his eyes tightly and letting himself soak in the feeling. He could feel Peter's tears soaking his neck and the shoulder of his t-shirt, and he could feel Peter's stomach heaving sporadically against his from how hard he was sobbing, and he hated that the tears were because of him. He opened his eyes so that he could walk to the nearest couch and sit down on it, Peter sitting on his lap like an even smaller child than he was.

Peter continued to cry, clinging to Tony like he was afraid he would disappear, until Tony realized that he was starting to hyperventilate a little bit.

Tony pulled back just enough to see Peter's tear-stained face, holding it between his hands and swiping his thumbs under Peter's eyes gently to wipe at the rapidly falling tears. “Peter,” he crooned, keeping his voice at a low whisper, “stop crying, baby, _please_ stop crying.”

Peter's big brown eyes opened to look at Tony, his face scrunched up and red and shining from all the salt water covering his cheeks. He took a couple of sharp, uneven breaths, before more tears spilled over and he dissolved into even bigger, more violent sobs. “ _Daddy_ ,” he whined, in between gasps that almost scared Tony more than anything else he had seen over the last few days.

“ _Peter_ ,” Tony repeated, almost desperately. “Peanut, you've gotta stop crying. You're going to make yourself sick, honey.”

Peter's sobs shook his entire little body, and Tony realized that all he could do was hold him until it was over. He glanced up at Rhodey and Pepper, neither of whom were dry-eyed.

“Inhaler and a bowl,” he whispered to them, preparing for either an asthma attack or Peter actually throwing up. They went to get the things he requested, and Roberta slipped out of the room, as well, to let father and son have this time to themselves.

By this point, Tony was pretty sure that snot and saliva were mixed in with the tears soaking his shirt, but holding his son, he felt the best he had in a while, even if the little boy was crying so hard he couldn't form a coherent sentence and there was a very real possibility of him making himself sick.

Tony let Peter curl up in his lap and stroked a thumb across his cheek gently. “I'm so sorry,” he whispered, pressing his forehead to Peter's. “I'm so sorry.”

“You promised you were never going away again,” Peter mumbled through his tears, his bottom lip quivering.

Tony was only confused for a minute, before he remembered the day he came home from Afghanistan and spent the evening curled up with Peter, watching movies until the little boy fell asleep.

“ _I'm never gonna go away again, I promise. Daddy's staying right here.”_

A stab of guilt shot through him. He pressed a shaky kiss to Peter's hair. “I don't think I can promise that anymore, peanut,” he said regretfully.

Peter curled closer, whining miserably. “ _No_ , you can't go away anymore! You _can't! Daddy_!”

His sobs turned into harsh wheezing, and Rhodey came back to the living room with his inhaler just in time. Tony grabbed it from his outstretched hand and shook it vigorously, holding it up to Peter's mouth insistently. “Come on, baby, breathe,” Tony said, pushing Peter's hair back off his forehead, waiting for Peter to latch onto the medicine.

Rhodey crouched in front of them and rubbed Peter's back firmly. “Come on, little man, your dad's right here, you've got him back,” he chimed in, his voice steady and calm while Peter was gasping and trembling.

Tony moved his hand to the back of Peter's neck and nudged the plastic mouthpiece of the inhaler into his son's mouth. “Deep breath, sweetheart, come on,” he insisted, and finally, _finally_ , Peter accepted it, looking up at Tony with huge, tearful eyes while Tony pressed the button. Tony soothed his thumb back and forth on Peter's cheek as he listened to the hiss of medicated air rushing into Peter's mouth. “There you go,” he praised. “That's good, hold that for a bit.” Peter nodded wordlessly as Tony pulled the inhaler away and cupped his small face in his hands. “You're ok. We're ok. Now let it out.”

Peter exhaled, shaky but a little more calm than before. He looked better, but exhausted, as he always did after a particularly rough bout of asthma. Tony and Rhodey exchanged relieved smiles, and Rhodey ran a hand over Peter's curls before standing and leaving the room again.

Peter's wide eyes were desperately sad as he looked at Tony. Tony wiped a few more tears away, blinking back some of his own.

“They said you died,” Peter mumbled. “I thought you went away forever this time.”

Tony used the hand on the back of Peter's neck to pull him close again, breathing deeply. “I'm so sorry,” he said again, because it was the only thing he could really say, no matter how useless it was.

Peter sniffled, sagging against Tony like all his remaining energy was leaving him all at once. “It wasn't your fault,” he said, shifting so that his head was tucked under Tony's chin and his body was scrunched up in a tight ball.

 _Wasn't it, though_? Tony thought bitterly, but he didn't want to think about it too much, not now that he was here with Peter, and he knew everyone he loved was safe, and he could take a minute to breathe. There was still a lot to do to fix everything, but he would let himself take this minute.

“I missed you, Daddy,” Peter said softly, his breath puffing against one of the many damp spots on Tony's shirt.

Tony rested his cheek on the top of Peter's head. “I missed you too, bambino,” he said. “More than you know.”

\---

It didn't take long after Peter's emotion-induced asthma attack for him to fall asleep, tucked into Tony's chest as close as he could get. He had worn himself out completely, and couldn't physically handle being awake anymore.

Tony sort of understood that feeling.

He stood up from the couch slowly, bracing Peter's head gently against his shoulder with one hand so it didn't loll around as he moved.

He passed by the kitchen on his way to the stairs, where the others had congregated to give him and Peter some privacy. He paused in the open entrance, and they all turned to look at him.

“Hey,” Pepper said first, looking at Peter, fast asleep in Tony's arms. “How's he doing?”

Tony brushed a curl off Peter's cheek with his thumb. “He wore himself out,” he said, and everyone looked sympathetic and sad for the little boy, because he was still little despite being eleven. “I'm gonna put him to bed.”

“That's a good idea,” Pepper murmured, stepping closer to get a better look at Peter's face. One of his cheeks was squished against Tony's shoulder, and the other was still shiny from mostly-dried tear tracks. She cooed softly. “Poor sweetheart,” she said. She leaned over and kissed Tony on the cheek briefly. “Get him to bed. And get yourself to bed, too.”

“Yes, ma'am,” Tony agreed. He looked to Rhodey and Roberta. “Good night.”

“Good night, honey,” Roberta said.

“'Night, Tones,” Rhodey echoed.

Tony stepped out of the kitchen and started up the stairs. The door to Rhodey's old room was open, so he assumed that's where Roberta had put Peter, and he went in, closing the door behind him, balancing Peter's slight weight in one arm.

He went to the bed and pulled the covers down to tuck Peter in, but when he looked down at Peter still resting against his chest, sleeping soundly, maybe for the first time since Tony had disappeared, his hand curled into Tony's collar, Tony couldn't bring himself to let go. He settled himself on the twin-size bed, scooting up to lean against the headboard. Peter shifted subtly, and Tony froze, worried that he was waking up, but Peter just wiggled around in his hold and snuggled into a comfortable position, still asleep.

Tony breathed a sigh of relief and allowed his eyes to drift closed. This was ok. This was safe. This was familiar. He leaned his head back and allowed himself to be lulled to sleep by the sound of Peter's breathing.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Is anyone else crying? 'Cause I am.
> 
> Find me on Tumblr and Instagram @riseuplikeglitterandgold! I love talking to people!
> 
> Update: Here's a link to a Tumblr post I made with details as to why they kept Peter in the dark about Tony being alive. It's a reply to a comment here, but I made the post just in case the comment gets swallowed up by all the others.  
> https://riseuplikeglitterandgold.tumblr.com/post/183282691543/someone-asked-about-this-and-i-didnt-know-how-to


End file.
